Our current mudroom is a total mess. My son and husband and I each have a bunch of shoes under the bench, a bunch of jackets on pegs and a bunch of hats and mitts shoved into our cubbies. Then there is the dog's cubbie, the sports equipment that gets shoved there etc etc. Even when it's all neatly placed, it looks crowded. In the new house we decided to go with a closed in closet beside the bench and cubbies. The idea is to have just the stuff that is currently being used out in the open and tuck the rest away. We're an active family and I don't think it's necessary to hide that but if we can work at making it look a bit better I'm all for it. Another thing we did is sheild the entry from the rest of the house this time. In our current open house I can see that mess all the time. I think just having it as neat as possible and then having it out of sight will be much better.

I couldn't wait to get home & play!!! Thank you all so much! We moved in here & a lot wasn't/still isn't finished. I had to take a break for awhile to live in the space. Just for fun, I found another set of pictures to try also. Ok, so I couldn't let completely go of some of my stuff & put it in the "dead corner" The other side of the kitchen( my favorite place to sit, especially in winter). Still need sconces for FP, pendants over island & UC lighting........... AND command center/ wine bar AND rework pantry cabs to hold microwave & breville in my "scullery" area.

You gave me a great idea to install a cabinet all the way down to the granite on the right. As I am staring at my kitchen back wall, the longer length of backsplash tile on the right didn't help with symmetry. May ditch the open shelving and return back to your suggestion of even uppers flanking the windows. Now I can return to sleeping at night. Thanks Sophie for your great suggestion.

@annapacificnw, can I ask what grout/color you used? I plan to do a 3x12 subway tile and want a contrasting grout. Yours seems nice and subtle but I can still see the contrast. Also, totally unrelated to your kitchen, I was considering a tufted sofa similar to yours. I was wondering how comfortable they are. I love how they look but was wondering if the backs are stiff? The less cushions my kids have to pull off and get all over the floor the better though!